


a golden frame

by cheinsaw



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Genderfluid Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 01:59:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8082235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: The world has ended. The last surviving Togami sometimes being a woman should be the least of everyone's concerns.





	

**Author's Note:**

> if you don't know about polaris, she's an alter ego/false identity togami used in dr:togami when he was younger. basically young togami presented female at some point and that's really all you need to know. canon is a box of scraps in a cave.
> 
> I AM NOT GENDERFLUID, SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANY OF THIS IS OFFENSIVE IN ANY WAY.

In the months since they left the school Togami has allowed his hair to grow long again, framing his face. Soon it will be at his shoulders, which is a less-than-optimal look but a necessary one if he's to have it halfway down his back again. He almost wonders if he should even go through with such a ridiculous whim. 

Perhaps the world, as it is, has not yet prepared itself for Polaris P. Polanski. But Togami's known her, been her, his entire life. He has thought long and hard about this--about others seeing him as Polaris--and he's come to the conclusion that there is quite literally no one to oppose him. What could they possibly do? Strip him of his family name?

The world has ended. The last surviving Togami sometimes being a woman should be the least of everyone's concerns.

So the next time Togami mentally shifts from he to she, she sheds her suit and tie for a black dress and stockings. She even bothers to do her eyeliner, figuring Hagakure or Naegi will be too stupid to realize what's going on without obvious visual cues.

Polaris studies herself in the mirror. She's beautiful, flawless, as always. Being a perfect heir in every way will do that. She tucks her hair behind her ears, admiring the way it brings out her high cheekbones. It's been a very long time since she dressed like this--normally, when her gender slides towards the feminine she simply remains presenting male. It would be more of a pain, she's always thought, to switch clothing every time, and Polaris P. Polanski is a very busy woman. What makes a girl a girl? If she feels female, then she is, regardless of appearance. And if she happens to shift back to male while wearing this dress, well, then she'll be a man in a very nice dress.

The walk to the former office building where Kirigiri had arranged their daily meeting is short, made shorter by Polaris's brisk pace. The city's been ruined for quite some time, but as far as any of their group can tell it's deserted save for the rats and stray dogs. There are no Remnants of Despair to be found hidden away among the broken glass or ransacked buildings. Polaris herself was the one to convince the Director to allow them to take up refuge here. Hagakure, Naegi, Asahina, Fukawa, Kirigiri, and herself--they make a great team, she'd argued, and they were more than capable of defending themselves if necessary. Tengan had chuckled, his good humor still intact despite the dying world around him, and gave his blessing.

Soon Polaris is on the fourth floor, the one with the cleanest conference room in the building. She reaches for the door handle, but finds that her fingers shake.

That's new.

Is she nervous? She can't possibly be nervous. What does she have to be worried about--her former classmates? There's nothing to lose. She's a Togami. She's _the_ Togami, the top of the world, the North Star.

She takes a deep breath and steadies herself before striding into the conference room just like usual. Five faces glance up at her, just like usual, and quickly turn confused.

Hagakure is the one to break the silence. "Togamicchi?"

"Yes, that's me," Polaris replies, in her usual dry tone. She takes her seat at the head of the table, realizing she's been standing for just a bit too long to seem unaffected.

"Umm, sorry, but, uh... What are you doing...?" Asahina asks.

"I thought it was time for you all to see me this way. You may call me Polaris," she says. "And yes, I am completely serious about this, so you had best hold off on any jokes."

"S-s-so you're a c-crossdresser?" Fukawa stutters.

Polaris's eyes narrow. Here it goes again. "I am female at this time, so no, I am _not_ 'crossdressing'."

"Umm... Polaris-san," Asahina starts, her brow furrowed in concentration. "What do you mean _at this time_...?"

"I had expected the lot of you to be able to pick up on it, but I suppose I seem to have misplaced my expectations yet again. I am sometimes male and sometimes female. I am currently female. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"But how can you--"

"Her gender identity shifts periodically," Kirigiri sighs. "It's uncommon, but not something I haven't seen before. She's still the same person we know as Byakuya Togami, just under a different name."

"Huh... Huuuuhhh," Hagakure says. "So you're like... two people? Like Fukawacchi and Genocider?"

"Please don't compare me to that," Polaris says as Fukawa blurts, "D-don't talk about _her_ so suddenly!"

Naegi's been quiet this whole time, so it surprises Polaris when he speaks. "I got it. You're still our friend, right? You're just a girl sometimes."

"Precisely." Polaris would like to add a scathing comment on the group's collective intelligence, but decides against it. She is baring herself to them, she supposes. It would not do well for her to get aggressive at a time like this.

"I'm glad, then," Naegi says. "Actually, I'm... the same. Well, not really, but I'm, you know, I, I was born as a girl." This is something that Polaris has long suspected, but never cared enough to confirm. Interesting. "B-but, I mean, I've never really been a girl, I'm a boy, I just, y'know."

"You can just do that?" Hagakure looks a stunning combination of confused and intrigued. "Like if I feel like somethin' else--"

"All you would have to do was say it," Kirigiri says, and then sighs again. Polaris can see she's itching to start the meeting.

Polaris smirks. "Well, now that show and tell is over, could we please get back to business?"

"Hang on! I wanna say one more thing," Asahina exclaims. Without waiting for a reply, she continues: "Your dress is super pretty! I can never wear dresses but I love seeing other girls wear them!" She beams.

"It is one of my personal favorites," Polaris nods.

"I'll accept P-Polaris-sama no matter what," Fukawa announces out of nowhere.

Polaris doesn't dignify that with a response. "Kirigiri, did you bring the files?"

"Yes." Kirigiri is as unaffected as usual. And just like that it's over. The meeting proceeds completely normally, with the requisite amount of banter and bickering for the group.

Polaris doesn't know what she expected. Acceptance, of course, was the only realistic outcome, after all the group has been through together. Such a small thing, in hindsight, compared to the killing game and the world as it is now.

And they do grow used to Polaris. Surprisingly quickly, in fact. They don't fuss when Togami shows up in his suit the next morning, and they don't fret over the back-and-forth. The next week Kirigiri slips Togami one of her pencil skirts in private, explaining calmly that they have a similar build so _ it should fit, if you ever want to represent Branch 14 presenting feminine. _

Togami's not sure what to think, really. But it is a quiet joy in the midst of the apocalypse, a small happiness.


End file.
